Building A Community To Attract Leads

Subject: Community First, Agencies Later Dear CEO, It's not time to invest in marketing if there hasn't been an organic investment of time in the community surrounding your solution. The mistake most early-stage B2B startups make is seeking quick fixes for rapid growth. Here's what I hear almost always: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵?" I start by understanding their commitment. Is there signals of traction or product market fit? 1. How many hours a week are you dedicating to community engagement? 2. What is holding you back from being a voice in the community? 3. What is the biggest blocker for you right now? These questions open the door to transparent discussions. The response generally is - not enough time. I remind them the core of their GTM strategy should be active Community Engagement. Don't rush into expensive partnerships targeting an uninformed audience. Instead, commit yourself/team at min. 6-9 months for substantial time investment in community building. To guide them through this phase, here's a simple framework: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 Network Mindfully: Connect with industry folks, allies, and even competitors. It becomes your strategic playground. Smart Starts: → Add 5-10 new connections weekly. → Engage with 3-5 thought leaders; don't lurk, add commentary. → Share insights—think quality over quantity. → Repeat weekly, show them your invested. Build your name. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗢𝗩 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 Address Pain Points: Find the sore spots your customers are dealing with, then post your wisdom and POV, offering tools or frameworks that help. Example: → Your customers are drowning in spreadsheets? Post about how your tool is the lifesaver they've been waiting for. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Slack and Facebook Diplomacy: Join 2-3 Slack channels or Facebook groups where your tribe hangs out. Dive in with purpose. Strategic Hangouts: → Dive into # TechTalkSlack or # StartupInsights on Slack. → Check out “Tech Innovators” on Facebook. → Reddit for Common FAQs 𝟰. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝘀 Personalized Convos: Send personalized messages to new, tenured, churned customers. It’s less Tinder, more coffee chat. Conversation Starters: → Learn what they love, hate, and forgot about the product. → Use their insights for future talks and features 𝟱. 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝟭-𝟰. Improve the product, enhancing features and strengthening the offering from real-time interactions. -------- Focus on building your brand. Your name starts to become a trusted partner. Tying back to the solution, the product, and the business. Because word of mouth is the driver for b2b growth if product market fit. What other ways are you building a community? Sincerely, 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘔𝘖 #gtmstrategy #b2b #cmos

Consistency in community-led Go-to-Market (GTM) doesn't mean bombarding. After observing countless product communities, here's a revelation: To 10x your community-led GTM efforts, it's sometimes more effective to... focus less on frequency and more on quality. 1. Pre-launch co-creation ↳ Involve your potential community early. Co-create the product, from features to marketing. This builds ownership and excitement. ↳ Example: Figma engaged designers early through access programs, allowing feedback that shaped development, ensuring it met user needs. 2. Gamified onboarding ↳ Replace boring tutorials with engaging, game-like experiences. Points, badges, and rewards make learning about your product fun and rewarding. ↳ Example: Grammarly boosts engagement with "daily goals" and streaks, fostering a habit of good writing practices through a fun, rewarding system. 3. Micro-influencer partnerships ↳ Leverage micro-influencers within your community. Their genuine connection with followers can authentically showcase your product's value. ↳ Example: Ahrefs partners with industry bloggers and micro-influencers for tutorials and reviews, effectively expanding brand awareness and trust within the SEO community. 4. Community-driven knowledge base ↳ Encourage users to build the knowledge base. User-generated content and peer-to-peer support enhance engagement and collective wisdom. ↳ Example: Zapier leverages its community forum for users to exchange automation workflows and solutions, enhancing the platform's value through collective wisdom. This approach doesn't require daily actions but involves strategic, meaningful engagement that fosters a strong, vibrant community around your product. Remember, quality over quantity always wins. ❤️♻️ P.S. How often do you engage with your community? I think we should aim for meaningful interactions 4-5 times a week. __ 📌 If you found this helpful, reshare this to your network and follow me Joseph Abraham for daily Go-to-market insights, frameworks, tools, and tips

In today's world, we have access to a total addressable community of over 5.3 billion people. Never before have we had such a vast opportunity to connect, serve, and thrive. But how do we navigate this enormous landscape effectively? I like to utilize the Five to Thrive method - a powerful 5-step system for building a community that not only buys from you but sells for you, forever. Step 1 - Stimulate Interest The first step is to stimulate interest, but with a crucial twist. Instead of trying to grow your total addressable community, focus on qualifying it. Use open-minded questions to identify people with open minds, open hearts, and open hands. Then, employ the three-no rule to filter them out: if someone shows a closed mind three times, respectfully bow out and let them know to reach out when the time is right. Once you've identified an open mind, use further open-ended questions to explore their needs, wants, and pain points. Be more interested than interesting. Your goal is to get to the point where you can ask, "Would it help you if...?" or "Do you know anyone who can help me with...?" Step 2 - Transition Interest Transitioning interest is where many fall short. It's not enough to be a great opener; you need to be a great closer too. This step involves providing the necessary information and collateral - the "info in motion" - to support the value you've offered or received in Step 1. Step 3 - Share a Vision Sharing a vision is about creating a meeting of the minds. Your challenge here is to articulate the "more than enough" value you're providing to exceed the "more than enough" value you're asking for. Address the invisible assumptions and clearly explain how you can be of service or value to each other. Remember, when someone agrees to what you'll do for them and what they'll do for you, you're only 20% of the way there. Step 4 - Manage and Develop the Vision This crucial step takes is the remaining 80% of the process. It's about maintaining alignment with the timing and risk tolerance you articulated when sharing the vision. Create a go-no-go plan that outlines the steps, timelines, and risk factors involved in delivering the promised value. Use the three-no rule here too. If someone misses three meetings or deadlines, give them an out: "This obviously isn't the right time. When it is, call me back." This approach respects everyone's time and energy. Step 5 - Thrive The final step is where it all comes together. When you consistently follow the first four steps, you create a community of people who want to help each other and know people who can help each other. You build a network of individuals aligned in timing and risk tolerance, capable of articulating quantitative value that exceeds what they're asking for. How has the Five to Thrive method impacted your business? Share your success stories in the comments below. 👇